Ticker

HSBC bank to pay France €300m to avoid tax fraud investigation

HSBC Private Bank, a Swiss unit of banking giant HSBC, said on Tuesday it had agreed to pay 300 million euros to France to avoid a long-running investigation into help to French clients to hide money from the tax authorities. The deal is the first under a French system introduced in 2016 allowing companies to settle without establishing guilt. Two former bank directors, however, remain subject to possible legal action.

Opinion

Sometimes in chess, a sacrifice brings victory. Theresa May should pay heed to the example of Slovakia's premier, Iveta Radicova, who sacrificed her job in order to get difficult euro bailout legislation through the Bratislava parliament.

The EU commission is giving more time to the Swiss government to endorse a deal that would put various sectorial agreements to access the single market under one deal. Nevertheless, after Brexit, the EU has had enough of exceptions.